Journals
A Short Story About Writing A Book
The Assorted properties are Not Mine. I'm just mucking around with them for a bit,
To settle the roars of a sudden Head Cannon that really doesn't want to go away
-/-
Prismo grimaced down at the thing in front of him. How in the Shining Stars had it learned about the portal, let alone the method to actually open… Well, actually, that was a stupid question. If he had the book, that would have been all the instruction the… Thing, would have needed.
And to think, it had started with such pure intentions.
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"So, what do you think?"
Steven let his face scrunch into thought, not that he was really much of a thinker, like his dad he always took everything at face value. Never arguing, never disagreeing just accepting. But an idea like this… It was interesting.
Though he knew the twins had a thing for keeping Journals, well at least Dipp did, Steven had underestimated just how much like their Great Uncle the Pines Twins were.
No… There were similarities there, Steven had met the man a few times before he passed away, but Dipper and Mabel Pines were far more stable than their Uncles had ever been.
"I guess it's kinda interestin'…" He replied, scratching at his quickly developing facial scruff. "But, Gems and your Magic don't exactly seem to get along, remember?"
He watched Dipp flinch while Mabel just sort of awkwardly smiled. "Yeah, no blowing up the Temple this time Steve, promise." Mabel chuckled.
"Yeah, see, the problem we have is that your Gems and my Magic don't like to be combined, but that's not what I'm thinking of..." Dipper interjected, before rapidly firing off a string of overly complicated words. Steven smiled, letting him ramble on. It was polite after all.
Sharing a glance with Mabel as Dipp wound down, she translated. "Basically we're gonna use your gems as the key and the magic to teach people."
Ah, that made sense… Wait… "So, we're only gonna teach Magic then?" Steven asked, a little put out. Sure the Gem's had basically discarded Earth as a bad memory, but still… He had more than a few he could pass on to future generations, Gem's imbued with the powers of past wielders, that would unlock new and exciting ones in the years to come, growing more powerful with every generation.
Just like the Rose Quartz.
"No, see, that's the brilliant part. Great Uncle Ford's journals were limited by physical space, he never really learned proper magic, just how to manipulate it using technology, but us, we can use multiple keys to open multiple journals, all in the one cover. Teaching magic and imbuing Gems long after we're gone." It was always cool seeing Dipper get enthusiastic over his Craft, the joy charged the air with a brilliant warmth.
"So, again;" Mabel asked, smile wide. "What do you think?"
"I think… I think that I'm in."
-/-
"See Jake? Monkey's paw." Ignoring Finn's bewildered look, he sent the two brothers on their way, locking up the Lich in the corner, encased in Gemstone.
"I suppose I can't let you free again, be irresponsible and junk…"With a further sigh he zoned out again. Being a Cosmic Being was neat and stuff, but Eternity was a long time, and even with his Quasi-Omnipotence, one grew bored.
That had been a close call, it was almost hilarious just how lucky Earth had gotten when Finn and Jake had tripped into the portal after The Lich, (And hadn't he told Dipper what a bad idea storing a multi-dimensional portal into a book had been?) avoiding the extinction clause of the Lich's Wish.
Then again, luck was not something he bet on regularly, pushing the portal just a little further back from his digs, giving the two time to follow on, delaying the Lich's wish just long enough so that Human and Dog could be witness to it.
"Who needs luck these days?" He snorted derisively, before drifting back into the past.
-/-
10 years of writing and work, Mabel polishing the language and instructions, Dipper crafting the spells and himself imbuing all the necessary Gem Craft into the locks, but finally they had finished it.
Bound in pristine brown leather, a basic shield embossed onto the cover, circled by a ring of gems, their Heroes Journal was finally complete.
"Check it out boys." Mabel smiled, pumping her fist into the air. "Journal number 4, The Hero's Manual, we finally finished it."
Dipper smiled back. "It's hard to believe, we've been working on this for so long, I don't even know what to do next."
"We can always add to it later." Steven noted with a smile. "New spells, Gem Craft maybe even some more kick arse artwork on the front?"
Mabel snorted and Dipper just shook his head. "Yeah… Suppose so."
"But what do we call it?" Mabel asked.
"…Journal 4?" Dipper asked more than said. "I mean, I thought we would just continue Ford's work."
"No, no, no. That was Grunkle Ford's thing Dipp, this here, this is ours. Pines and Universe… Hey Pine Universe! Like an entire universe made of pine trees, it's PERFECT!" The boys both shook their heads, Mabel had never really grown up even after she had become a mother of the latest generation of Pines Twins.
"No way Mabel, this is the last 10 years of life." Dipper argued. "It's gotta be something unique and striking, just like us."
"Oh puh-lease, you were content to just call it Journal Number 4 and be done with it." She shot back. "Don't give me that unique BS."
"I… Hadn't really thought about it until now."
As the twins squabbled, Steven remembered.
-/-
"Steven, come here."
Beach City was just about to hit sunset, and already the sky was starting to burn an awesome orangey colour.
Although, Steven guessed, from certain angles the sky almost look as sunburnt as his dad's skin. Polishing off the ice cream treat in his hand, he nudged Lion up, the pink stead looking at him with baleful eyes. "I know buddy, but Pearl's callin' and I can't get up there so quick on my own."
The jungle cat let out a snort, but stood up anyway, beckoning Steven up to his back, before vanishing in a blur of teleportation.
"WOOOOO!" Steven cried as they popped up on one of the hands that extended from the Temple's side. "Man that's never gonna get boring!"
"Steven." Pearl sighed, grabbing his attention with a stern look. "I'm going to teach you about the Guiding Star tonight."
"Oooo, what's that?" Steven asked, sitting down at Pearl's feet, Lion curling up behind him.
Smiling in fondness, Pearl gestured to the slowly setting sun. "There's a legend on the Homeworld, about a Legendary Gem, a Hero, with powers almost unimaginable by the common Gem.'
"Long ago, when the Homeworld faced a great calamity this Gem rose up and gave their life to save us all in a show of power so great, everyone on the planet saw the display, eyes drawn towards the battle, and when it was over, a new star burned bright in the sky, a guiding light for all."
"Wooooooah, that's so cool. What kind of powers did the Hero have? I bet it was super cool, like a super cannon or maybe a really, really, really big sword or…"
"Steven." Pearl interrupted his rambling with a raised hand. "Even if it really happened, it happened a very long time ago. No one is left that would even remember the theories, let alone the actual power."
"Oh." Steven frowned. That was a bummer, he reckoned whatever power that could create a whole new star in the sky would have been really awesome. "I guess that makes sense, even if it's super disappointing."
"Well, yes." Pearl stammered. "While the exact abilities are lost to time, that isn't what I bought you up here to talk about. What I wanted to tell you, instil in you, is the will of a hero, that even if you die, if your death saves even one life, if you can do that, then you are a true hero and even if your skills are forgotten, even if time passes and you become a mere memory, your name will ring true, inspiring generations of Gems and Humans."
Steven felt his mouth go a little dry at that. Pearl was on a role, fire in her eyes and passion in her words, it was kind of amazing.
"What… What was the Hero's name?"
Pearl smiled…
-/-
"Pearl told me a story once, about a Hero from Homeworld." He began, cutting over the twin's squabbling, grabbing their attention. "A Hero who gave his life to beat back darkness, the sacrifice and power so great, that he forged a brand new star in the sky."
"Woah… That's super awesome." Mabel whispered in awe as Dipper nodded in agreement. "You wanna name the Journal for that Hero, Steve?"
"Yeah, it fits I think."
"What was his name?" Dipper asked with a tilt of his head and a glint in his eye.
Steven smiled…
-/-
Bouncing out of the memory, Prismo sighed. "Sorry about your legacy dude. Didn't quite turn out the way I wanted.""
-/-
..."They called the Hero… Enchiridion."
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I started in on Gravity Falls and Steven Universe recently, and while I got up to date on Gravity Falls, I haven't gotten to work on tearing through Steven Universe. Even so, this small little Head Cannon has wormed it's way inside my brain, and while I have more ideas that fit into this universe, I feel like this sits strong enough on it's own, so just a one shot for now.
Sorry if some of the Steven Universe information is a little off, I'm only 7 episodes in. If by the time I've torn through the rest of season 1 and what exists of season 2, I'll come back and fix the inconsistencies then, but for now, this is the best I can do with the information I have (Plus some additional stuff that I checked on the Wiki).
Read, Review. Lemme know what you think.